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Judy Fox grew up in East Stroudsburg, Pa., the daughter of two Houghton graduates. Though appreciative of her parents' Houghton education, she said the decision to attend Houghton was made in spite of, not because of their influence. "I didn't want to come just because they came here," she says, "But after my last visit, I just knew that Houghton was where I should attend and that Houghton College would be a significant part of my future."
 
A basketball standout in high school, Judy came to Houghton to continue that athletics journey, but along the way found another sport where she made her mark and became foundational to her professional career.
 
It didn't take long for Judy to translate her basketball skills to the volleyball court. With the encouragement of Head Coach Wendy Jacobson, and later Coach Skip Lord, and the application of her natural athleticism, Judy soon became the leader of both programs. She lettered two years in basketball and four years in volleyball. She finished her volleyball career by earning NCCAA All-District and NCCAA Division I All-America honors following her senior campaign.
 
Beyond the on-court accomplishments, Judy points to the sense of community and the deep relationships she made as leaving the deepest imprints. "Houghton is steeped in depth of relationship," Judy says, "and that's a precious uniqueness of not just Houghton College but the community at large."

The interaction with Coach Lord formed a desire for Judy to pursue coaching as a career as well as to find a way to use sport as a platform to share the love of Christ.
 
After graduation she served four years at Houghton as an assistant coach for both programs. She went on to coach volleyball at the high school, club and collegiate levels, including three seasons at the helm at Indiana Wesleyan University and four seasons as an assistant at NCAA Division I University of North Texas.
 
In 2003, her passion for using sport to share the Gospel prompted Fox to start her own organization, Ignite International, that leads sports teams on short-term missions trips around the globe.

"Being in sports ministry opens amazing doors which then provide the opportunity to impact the lives of many whom others simply don't have the opportunity to impact," Judy says. Ignite's mission is "to leverage the universal language of sport to enrich, encourage and empower the lives of people, both at home and abroad".
 
Since starting Ignite, Judy has led mission trips to Nicaragua, the Holy Land, Cuba, Liberia, Mexico, Ukraine, Lithuania, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Jamaica, Russia, Germany and within the USA. As part of this work, Judy took the first female soccer team to Liberia and the first U.S. collegiate volleyball team to Nicaragua. She serves as a consultant to the Nicaragua Volleyball Foundation and the Nicaragua National Volleyball Team.
 
Judy has personally led Houghton's volleyball and basketball teams on seven total trips to Nicaragua since 2005.
 
Judy is a 2016 inductee to the East Stroudsburg Area Senior High School Meritorious Hall of Fame and a 2019 inductee to the NCCAA Hall of Fame. She continues to lead teams internationally through Ignite, speaks at conferences, team events, banquets and colleges and universities across the nation, and has served as chaplain of the NCCAA Volleyball National Championships since 2009.
 
Judy remains active in the life of Houghton athletics by serving as a member and past chair of the Highlander Athletics Advisory Board since 2009, visiting campus often and forming new relationships with the department's coaches and student-athletes.
 
Judy, who holds a master's degree in sport coaching from the United States Sports Academy, lives in Dallas, Texas and uses her entrepreneurial spirit in business ventures that build teams and empower others. She enjoys spending time with her pets, skiing, working out, hanging out with friends and "being home" when she's home.